Alison Aries
Institute for Science and Technology in Medicine
Sensory stimulation of the foot and ankle early post-stroke:
A feasibility study (MoTaStim –Foot)
Sensory stimulation/retraining to the lower limb post-stroke is a part of conventional
clinical practice, however, insufficient information is currently available to either
support or refute this practice. Stroke affects 15 million people in the world and
approximately 150,000 people in the United Kingdom annually. Walking is a priority
for many stroke survivors. The importance of sensory input to influence motor
function is now widely agreed upon in order to perform voluntary activity with good
coordination and control. Increasing the ability to feel may, therefore, help a stroke
survivor to balance and walk. Three types of rehabilitation strategies have been
proposed to facilitate successful goal attainment: priming, which prepares the
sensorimotor system for motor function; augmenting techniques, to enhance the
sensory input during activity; and task specific practice. Protocols for Mobilization
and Tactile Stimulation (to prime the sensory system), wearing textured insoles (to
augment) and task specific walking training will be developed and explored in the
MoTaStim-Foot feasibility study. At the present time there is insufficient evidence
available to enable informed decisions to be made regarding the place for sensory
stimulation/re-education to the LL post stroke in clinical practice; the MoTaStim-Foot
feasibility study is an important step towards evidence-based rehabilitation poststroke.
Postgraduate Conference 2016
Page 20